HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Steinert clips Hightstown

The Spartans picked up their first win of the season Wednesday night, 43-33, over Hightstown thanks in part to wins by Brandon Cray, Tyler Beers and Matt McDonald, who all bumped up in weight for the match.

Cray, a freshman wrestling at 113 pounds, won by major decision while Beers, at 132, pulled out a 2-0 decision and McDonald sealed the victory with a pin in the final bout, at 170.

“Guys had an opportunity to step up tonight, and they came through,” Steinert coach Adam Jankos said. “We bumped up guys tonight to a weight class they don’t usually wrestle and we were happy about that. When you’re bumping up three guys like that, it’s a disadvantage. Luckily our guys are tough enough to get the wins.”

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The Spartans (1-2 overall, 1-1 in the Colonial Valley Conference) opened their season with a loss at Hopewell Valley and dropped a one-point decision at Colts Neck prior to facing Hightstown (2-5, 1-2).

Hightstown got off to a fast start, jumping to an 18-0 lead, with Michael Vetick pinning at 182 pounds, Joey DeCristofaro receiving a forfeit at 195 and Matt Van Why rallying from a 5-0 deficit to pin at 1:26 of the first period at 220.

Jon Bussi ended the Rams’ run with a pin at 285 for Steinert, followed by John Bernstein’s pin at 106 and Cray’s major decision at 113.

After Hightstown’s Kevin Medina received a forfeit at 120, the Spartans got a pin from Nate Benitez at 126 and 2-0 decision from Beers at 132 to claim their first lead of the night, 25-24, with five bouts remaining.

Beers, who has wrestled predominately at 126 this season, picked up his victory by getting a reversal from the defensive starting position with 46 seconds to go in the third period.

Joe Willett reclaimed the advantage for Hightstown, 27-25, with a 3-2 win at 138, but Steinert got pins from Sean Augustyn at 145 and Anthony Kubish at 152 to build a 10-point lead.

Nickle Mitchell kept the Rams’ hopes alive with a pin at 160, but McDonald sealed the triumph with his pin, helping Steinert avoid an 0-3 start for the second straight season. Last year, the Spartans began 0-3 before reeling off 15 consecutive wins on their way to the best campaign in school history.

“We broke the ice tonight,” Jankos said. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, especially when we were losing 18-0. I was shaking in my boots there for a second.

“I expected to win tonight, and that’s what we did. I guess I got lucky in some places. We started 0-3 last year and it was just hard for us to get the momentum going, but once we did we were on top of our game. If we can do the same thing this year, I’m OK with that.”

Hightstown coach Mike Russo is hoping his team can find its own momentum.

“I thought we wrestled well tonight; we came out with a little fire, and that’s all I’ve been looking for,” Russo said. “I’m looking for some unity and fire, and for someone to beat somebody that they’re not supposed to. We saw a little bit of everything tonight. We wrestled down to the last match.

“I’m proud of our kids. We’re young. We have kids that aren’t varsity wrestlers and we’re putting them in there and they’re starting to win a little bit. We’re just trying to rebuild each day. We have kids that are out, for whatever reason, and we’re trying to scrape together the best lineup we can.”